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Most of the nonsense we hear and read is from people who are either jealous or have decided long before doing any research that EVs are bad and spout only the facts that fit their theory. I find myself doing this sometimes and slap myself. We need to keep an open mind on both sides of this issue. A lot of the negative reports are either from trumpers, conspiracy theorists or nut jobs.

I can see these guys arriving home on the weekend and going out to mow the lawn. The gas-powered lawn mower won’t start so they go to Home Depot and buy a cordless one powered by…you got it, a battery. An EV lawn mower, who’d a thunk it? And remember, all those batteries have to be recycled too.

And of course, they always bring up the sad story of little kids working in factories. This is true, but it’s been going on for generations, but not just for EVs. For some of these kids, it’s the only way to make a living for themselves or their families. If you want to blame someone, blame the greedy entitled billionaires who spend half a billion dollars for a few minutes riding in space. With that kind of money, they could feed a small nation. (Oops, I almost started a new rant.)

I think that EVs are not the final answer but for now, the best answer. There are even better technologies in the works if they can be made to work right. My favourite is hydrogen-powered vehicles which will cost nothing to run if they do it right. Ooh! how about nuclear power, boy would that sucker go?

It’s so frustrating that sometimes I want to jump out the window. It wouldn’t do any good as we’re only five feet up and I would either twist an ankle or break my hip. I won’t do it anyway because it would only make Rosalie mad.

This is one of the best comments found on Facebook. It doesn’t even mention fracking.

“Tony Lort

So how much tar sand must be dug from the ground and how much energy do the many pieces of equipment do to get it out and processed use and how much energy does it take to refine that crude into useable fuel and then what are the emissions and energy used for all the various forms of transport to get it to the gas station and what did it take to dig the pits to put the tanks in the ground at that gas station? What are the environmental effects of the waste from the tar sands and how much ecological damage was done to the habitats of the animals and what about the health effects of the fumes all around that entire process not to mention the damage to our atmosphere and our health from all the exhaust? How much ecological damage is done by all the abandoned oil wells and all the infrastructure around them and we haven’t even started to discuss the oil spills and other mishaps. Compare all the damage by both sides of the equation if you want to have a proper discussion of ecological damage. I keep seeing this stupid piece and wonder how anyone could even look at it without asking all the questions.”

He mentions putting tanks in the ground. If that tank leaks it costs even more to have it removed.

This whole subject is mostly about personal choice. I don’t put your gas vehicle down so let me have the freedom to drive my EV without all the nasty comments. I don’t aim this comment at any of our friends who make fun of our car; yes we do carry a very long extension cord just in case. It’s the nasty unresearched comments I can’t stand.

Okay, rant done!…for now.

Here we go again. I’m about to have a rant so hold on.

Sales of EVs are declining for some reason. I think it’s all about uninformed negative information. There is a lot of it around and as EV owners we hear and see it a lot. Some of the information is accurate but twisted. For instance, there was an article in a German newspaper saying that EVs are environmentally negative because of the high cost of energy to produce one. This is true they do use more energy to build, but over the life of the vehicle they are not spewing out ten to fifteen years of pollution so are a lot more environmentally friendly. That was not mentioned! Also, how long does it take a gas vehicle to reach zero emissions?

We read one comment saying that it took 35 gallons of diesel at the charging station, to go 200 miles. If it did cost that much diesel, the cost to charge would go through the roof. Obviously not fact-checked. In Canada, we use hydro and nuclear power which is so much cleaner. In the USA it takes more to produce the energy because most of their power is fossil fuel generated; even so, that number is still out to lunch. Think about it, if diesel costs $1.50 or whatever, that means that it costs $52.50 to charge my car for 200 Miles when I only pay, at the most $15 at the charge station. No wonder oil companies are losing money, yeah right.

We hear that EV batteries are going to end up in landfills, that’s not so true anymore. Companies are starting to recycle as the metals used are too expensive to dump. The life of about ten years is short but it’s early in the EV era, technology is getting better, and batteries are lasting longer producing more range and costing less. The year we bought our car, 2023, the next year’s model of the same car came with more range.

They say that the infrastructure isn’t in place to support EVs. There are thousands of these charging stations out there and of course, there are teething problems but so far we have had no problems charging. We even found a free charger in a rest area on the highway. Our car is mostly charged at home but there are reports of people with EVs being unable to charge because they live in a condo and have no personal means of charging. Why didn’t they do a little research before they bought the vehicle? That was one of our first concerns, how and where do we charge and can we charge from home? It’s not rocket science to find out.

But my favourite negative story was on CBC News. It seems that a guy with a new Ford EV truck took a drive into the USA and ran out of power because he couldn’t find a charging station. The EV is like a computer and lets you know where the closest charge station is. He obviously didn’t do any research beforehand. The CBC reported this! If I went into the USA with a gas-powered vehicle and ran out of gas, would they report that? Not likely!

This is only the beginning I will rant more.

I can’t believe we have been back two weeks. That means I haven’t written a blog since Melaque. I better get started! My public is waiting; all six of them; up one from last year. Part of the problem was that I got locked out of my site because I screwed up the password three times.

Our trip back was the best we have had in several years. We flew from Manzanillo to Calgary and then to Comox. The trip took nine and a half hours. After a night in Comox, Mike and Faye took us home to Spidey.

The following day we went to Barb and Dave’s for dinner. Normally we wouldn’t do this so soon as we are tired and need to get settled in, but they tempted us with a roast beef dinner and some great company so it was hard to say no. We stayed overnight and went home the next morning.

Now the work begins! As well as all my usual chores: Taking tarps off of stuff, unwrapping the car etc. I had a huge pile of firewood to move and store. I’m lucky as it has been raining and I couldn’t work in the rain too much. Sore hip, you know, wink, wink.

There was some concern about the car as it was the first time we stored it over the winter. There was no need for concern as it was still fully charged and as soon as I connected the small battery it was ready to go.

Three things must be done when arriving back in Canada. First, I have to BBQ a pork roast. I drool thinking about it in Melaque. Second, we have to go with Peter and Suzie to Hong Kong House for some good Chinese food. Third, and by far the most important: Thursday afternoon at the pub with the guys. Although I was a little disappointed when I found out that while I was away, and without my bad influence, they are all only having one beer each now instead of two.

My 3D printer arrived with Gerry and Denise and with my small new one, I’ve been printing up a storm. I’ve been trying to perfect a wine glass as I tend to break glass ones quite regularly. I may have it just about right, but we’ll see. I’m printing sets of two and so far they look pretty good.

That’s it for now or else this will never get posted.

It’s been an eventful couple of days.

We were at Terraza Cortes for a quiet afternoon drink and visited Lorena. She speaks some English and helps us with our Spanish. She and her three brothers: Arturo, Jorge, and Israel along with her sister Rosario own the restaurant and have all become friends, despite us having been thrown out seven years ago.

Lorena Y Rosalia

While we were there an arrest went down across the street. Apparently, a guy had broken into an apartment and the cops were there to arrest him. He was a solid-looking guy and strong. He put up quite a fight and punched the cops a few times. It took two of them to finally get him into handcuffs. They didn’t look like local town cops: these guys were wearing flack jackets and looked very professional. Good entertainment for us.

The following day we went to Cowpuchino’s for the last time this season. John was there and told us there had been an accident on the highway on his way over. It looked as though a guy had tried to cross the highway, was hit by a vehicle and was lying on the road. A Mexican at Cowpuccino’s told us the same story, but he thought the guy was a Canadian and still alive. The ambulance had arrived so hopefully good news.

Later after our second drink, another fight broke out, this time between a chihuahua and a chicken trying to protect one of her nuggets. There were several scuffles and the chicken won them all. It didn’t put the chihuahua off one bit, she kept coming back for more. The chihuahua must have wanted that nugget really badly. She was a feisty little thing and I was worried about my ankles as she hung around us quite a bit.

I think the chicken was brave because she had taken a drink from the pink cup on the seat. It was false bravery though as she didn’t know there was no Booze in it; a kid’s drink.

There was a little kid there trying to lasso anything that moved, he saw a goat go by and charged off forgetting that the one thing he had caught was a tree stump and that it didn’t move. Quite funny and all part of the free entertainment.

And so, back to the casa for more packing before heading to the beach for more Spanish lessons from Lorena.

We took our usual trip to the beach after half an hour of furious packing and ordered a couple of piña coladas; not my usual drink but good all the same.

As usual, our amigo Mark Antony showed up selling pistachios and today we decided to buy some. He was so overcome that he had to sit at our table and order a beer. We told the mesero to put it on our tab.

The next hour was awesome. I had assumed that Mark Antony could speak English but it turned out that he only knew enough to sell his products. So Rosalie stepped in and helped to bridge the gap. I added my little Spanish whenever I could. However, I still have a problem understanding it when it’s spoken to me, but I keep trying and it’s starting to pay off little by little.

He didn’t stop at one beer but had three, two of which were on our bill. He is very inquisitive and wanted to see photos of Canada, the Rockies, our site and anything else we mentioned. He is an awesome guy, always friendly, he has to fist-bump everybody he meets and I think that helps with his sales.

It was mentioned that the Bandidos were coming back to Canada this year and it would be fun for him to come to Canada too, to sell his pistachios at their gigs. It was said in jest but you could just see the wheels turning in his brain. That is until I mentioned all the bureaucracy he would need to go through.

We’ve been trying to visit our favourite spots one more time, before we leave. As most of the kitchen stuff is packed we are having to eat out for the next few days.

Also for the last few days, it’s going to be careful planning and coordinating with Castulo who takes care of the car. We leave on Thursday so have to have the car garaged by Wednesday afternoon. We can walk into town after that. It’s starting to get hot here, it was 35 C yesterday so we don’t want to do too much walking in the heat.

We also have to pack our StarLink but I will leave that until Thursday morning so we have WiFi until the last minute.

We were sitting on the patio when an iguana wandered in. He/she didn’t seem in the least concerned that we were there. Rosalie likes him but at a distance so I grabbed the broom and gently persuaded him to leave. He left mmediately and ran into the laundry room. I had seen him/her there before and think it’s his/her home under the old washing machine. Anyway, we decided to call him Larry The Laundry Lizard. I think it suits him/her.

I momentarily forgot about the eclipse. (An age thing, you know.) So when the light dimmed I thought for a moment that Mexico had forgotten to pay the electricity bill.

It didn’t get very dark here just a bit dimmer. I was a bit disappointed and if I had paid I would have asked for my money back. But it was dim enough to shut the dogs, roosters and songbirds up for a while. We noticed that it didn’t stop the Mexican music though.

I would have liked to have watched it with Eclipse glasses but was too late to get some online. I sure wasn’t going to buy them from a local store, not that we saw any. They would probably be made from old X-rays and I didn’t fancy trying to look at the sun through someone’s belly button.

See, no glasses, they were afraid of the belly button too.

Rosalie noticed that the temperature also dropped-another reason to ask for a refund.

The next total eclipse here is on 11 May 2078 so I guess I’ll just have to wait around for that one.

Tourists in Mazatlan have been complaining about the bands on the beach being too noisy. They tried to get them banned or quietened down. They tried to get designated areas and times. Fortunately, the bands themselves held a protest and were supported by the Governor of Sinaloa. The whole thing was thrown out and the bands played on. So tourists said they would never come back because of the noise, Good!

The bands seem to play mostly to Mexicans. We have paid a street singer occasionally but wouldn’t hire a band.

It’s amazing how people complain here: the dogs bark too much, the fireworks are too noisy, the bands are annoying, the restaurant service is too slow and my two favourites: there are too many Mexicans on the beach and why don’t the waiters speak English.

The beach vendors can be annoying too but if you politely say “No Gracias” they go away. Some are a bit pushy but that’s part of their job. Some bring nice treats like cakes and donuts, peanuts, and pistachios, and if you’re up for it, roasted crickets.

These are all the things we enjoy about Mexico. If the tourists don’t like it, they should stay up north and not come to this beautiful place.

Some things do annoy us but it’s all part of the culture here and we sure wouldn’t complain about it. Like this guy, for instance, I made it short as he can be annoying. I noticed that he only has eleven strings on his twelve-string guitar.

https://youtu.be/_2XpIFJmIpg

The thing is, we are a captive audience and as soon as he finishes playing he comes around looking for a tip. We always pay up. Then there is the guy who plays a xylophone. He looks as though he’s about ninety years old and knows about two vaguely recognizable tunes. He also goes looking for tips. These people are only trying to make a living and we applaud them for at least trying.

The nice part about this is that most of the complaints are posted on Facebook and often get blasted by people who live here and Mexicans alike.

My advice to people who want a nice quiet holiday is don’t come to Mexico because Mexicans love lots of noise.

We weren’t going to go to the beach the other day, but after sitting and looking at each other for a few minutes we decided to go after all. I wanted to go to see the bikinis anyway.

At Terraza Cortez we settled in at our usual table (actually any table). Three norteño guys were sitting next to us and at first, they were annoying until we started to listen to what they were talking about.

We couldn’t hear much but the snatches of conversation we heard were entertaining. The youngest guy was the most verbal and spouting the most nonsense. And of course, the language was quite colourful. Apparently, they were already four tequilas and several beers in, so it was somewhat entertaining.

I got the impression that they were related and were just a few wrong words away from a punch-up. The young guy was complaining about his wife. It seems that she constantly made his life miserable. We were both wondering why she stayed with the fool.

Several times they looked as though they were going to pay the bill and leave, only to order more beer. By this time the older guy was almost falling out of his chair. He didn’t say much but when he did he got angry with the young guy. Altogether a very entertaining afternoon.

The breeze has been making it very chilly at the beach these days. Today we only stayed for one drink. Rosalie forgot her shawl and I didn’t have a warm shirt on so we went home for happy hour.

Rosalie, my favourite cooking maniac. 

She has been cooking up some fabulous food lately. I sometimes think she overdoes it. She should just toss whatever it is in the frying pan sear it on both sides slap it on a plate and serve it to me. I’m sure it would be delicious. Instead, I get a gourmet meal that I have to rate. 

I hate it when she gives me something that other people find delicious but I just don’t like. How do I tell her when she has put so much love and effort into it? Luckily that doesn’t happen very often.

Being English I like a lot of my food plain. I was raised in a culture where everything is fried and served with fries. On menus in some cafés in England, you see just about everything…and chips. Together with tea that has been stewing for a few hours if not days. Add two heaping spoons of sugar and some milk and you have a perfect cup of English tea. Yuck!

I do miss my English fish and chips though. I’ve been served some good fish meals here but there is nothing like coming out of the theatre late at night, finding a fish and chip shop, placing an order and eating it out of newspaper as you walk home. You would have smothered it in salt and malt vinegar first though. You would have to be walking because you just missed the last bus. Not that it mattered as you spent the last of your money on the fish and chips anyway.

I love being Canadian and part Mexican but there will always be that pull toward some English-style foods. I was married to a Scot for 27 years and still can’t face blood pudding. Haggis though, that’s a different story: That, I like.

Okay, so we have some funny-sounding foods in England. For example:

Bubble and squeak: is a fried British dish made with potatoes and cabbage. It’s quite similar to the Irish colcannon. It often contains meat such as ham or bacon and is traditionally made on Monday with the leftovers from Sunday’s dinner or on Boxing Day with leftovers from the Christmas feast. It is sometimes topped with a fried egg.

Toad in the hole: is a traditional British dish made of sausages baked into a large Yorkshire pudding, typically served with onion gravy.

Pease pudding and faggots: This one takes some time to explain so here is a link:  Pease pudding

Mushy peas: fresh garden peas are harvested when young. Marrowfat peas are mature garden peas that have been allowed to dry naturally in the field before harvesting. It’s what gives them their starchy texture—and ability to get mushy. And I still can’t understand why you guys don’t like them.

Jellied eels: Again this needs a link as there is some history. Jellied eels. I haven’t tried them because they don’t appeal to me.

After reading about some of the gourmet foods we eat in England surely Rosalie has to understand why I can’t like everything she serves up. But I do like bananas.

There are many reasons for going to the beach in the afternoon, mostly it’s just to get out of the house for a while. We go to cool off, although it’s been a little chilly lately, and have a quiet drink. Then Easter happens.

The Mexicans start celebration days before the actual event. This was the day before Good Friday. There were hundreds of Mexican tourists on the beach and the signs and sounds made it a lot of fun. It’s nice to watch dads playing in the surf with their kids; young girls in their bikinis; competing bands playing; radios blaring; the banana boat taking people for a ride, and beach vendors trying to make a living, all adding up to a couple of hours of entertainment for us. There was even a police boat cruising up and down to keep law and order. (I typed that with a smile on my face.)

One couple was throwing a ball to one another. At first, the young lady couldn’t catch it to save her life, but eventually, she started to do better.

Los Cocos is our restaurant of choice lately, next door to Las Hamacas. Usually, when a band is playing at Las Hamacas it can be heard in Los Cocos, but not this day though: it was all, just too noisy.

One vendor, our amigo Bolivar, always stops and talks to us. When a young girl in a bikini walked right in front of him, the appreciative look he gave me when he saw her was priceless.

An older Mexican came into the restaurant with his guitar and pan flute and sang a couple of songs. It was so noisy we couldn’t even hear him, but we gave him a tip anyway.

On one of the days, the noise was so bad so we decided to go to Terasa Cortez. The place was almost empty, however, they were serving sixteen tables on the beach that they charged 300 pesos for. They have to do this as the Mexicans mostly bring all their own food and booze.

A young kid selling ‘tuba’ (a coconut drink) came to our table and said something very fast to Rosalie in Spanish. When she said she didn’t understand him he gave her a most exasperated look: absolutely hilarious! We found out his name was Alfonso and he became friends with me for a brief moment.

It seems that almost all the bars have a gay waiter. Being gay doesn’t seem to matter here as none of them try to cover it up. It’s quite refreshing that way.

Some of the waiter’s names seem quite odd such as Africa, Pollo and Chava, (means Girl). These are all guys and only one is gay, that we know of.

Can’t wait to go again.